Sword Art Online Progressive: Scherzo of Deep Night

Plot

In late 2022, the ALS and DKB guilds, joined by a handful of other players, cleared the fourth floor's boss. These two guilds held conflicting views on how to beat the game. Later, protagonists Asuna and Kirito, alongside the informant Argo, talked about a New Year's celebration the guilds were organizing. While exploring a dungeon beneath the fifth floor's central town, Asuna overheard two players plotting to dismantle both guilds.

The scheme involved ALS leaving the party early to solo the fifth floor's raid boss, which was supposed to be a joint effort. Kirito and Asuna then confronted ALS's leader, Kibaou. He admitted the plan existed, explaining that the boss dropped a rare item that would give his guild an edge in clearing floors, but claimed a faction within his guild had pressured him into it. He gave reluctant permission for Kirito, Asuna, or any other group to defeat the boss before ALS attempted it.

Kirito and Asuna assembled a small raid team but could not recruit Mito, who still felt guilty about her choices in the prior movie. The group entered the dungeon, fought through monsters, and planned their approach. Kirito and Argo went ahead to scout the boss's chamber but triggered the fight by mistake. The battle began with the boss's arms and legs attacking whenever players stepped on marked lines on the floor.

The rest of the raid joined in and accidentally set off the same attacks. After dealing enough damage, the boss revealed a crest, a known weak point, then hid its head. As the group tried to fall back, the head emerged from the ground and grabbed Asuna. Mito suddenly appeared and freed her.

The crest then started appearing randomly on the boss's limbs; after several strikes, the boss transformed into a golem with the crest on its face. The team destroyed the golem and claimed the rare item. While the others moved on to the sixth floor, Asuna and Kirito stayed to face the arriving ALS guild. Kirito offered two conditions for handing over the item, which the guild refused, but they left without a fight.

Production

Following the release of Sword Art Online Progressive: Aria of a Starless Night, a sequel film was announced with a 2022 release. The same staff and cast returned, including A-1 Pictures handling production, Ayako Kōno directing, Kento Toya on character designs, and Yuki Kajiura composing the music. Eir Aoi performed the main theme, "Shinzō." The film adapts the fourth light novel volume, as one of the series' overarching storylines remained unfinished.

Reception

Richard Eisenbeis of Anime News Network gave the film a C+, praising the world-building, production, and soundtrack but criticizing its over-reliance on the same tropes as its predecessor, making it more predictable and less emotionally powerful. Phil Hoad of The Guardian gave it two out of five stars, praising action sequences and animation but criticizing the plot as a clunky and redundant transposition of videogaming experience. Nick Valdez of Comic Book Resources gave a positive review, praising production and characters while noting it is for longtime fans. Brittany Vincent of IGN gave an unfavorable review, calling it an enjoyable return for fans but a step backward due to a rote story and a disappointing character devolution for Asuna.

Cezary Jan Strusiewicz of Polygon described it as an inconsequential pit stop that is too safe and familiar, with a predictable plot and a frustrating character downgrade for Asuna, despite praising the final boss battle's pace. Matthew Magnus Lundeen of Game Rant said it offers well-animated fight scenes, great music, and a tense boss battle, but serves as a disappointing and structurally confused anniversary celebration with sluggish early pacing, narrative inconsistency, and bizarre dialogue. Melvyn Tan of Anime Trending reported pleasant enjoyment despite a less engaging main story, praising memorable duels, Argo's strong presence, and the chemistry between Asuna and Kirito, though the final battle lacked the franchise's best intensity. Tamara Lazic of Anime Corner called it a highly enjoyable collection of SAO's best elements with top animation and natural relationship progression, but said it offers nothing new and feels like filler.

Did You Know?

• The film was initially set for an advance screening on August 24, 2022, before a full theatrical release on September 10, but was delayed to October 22 due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan.
• The film and its prequel premiered on television for the first time on Fuji Television on January 20 and 21, 2024 respectively.